CELEBRITIES IN THE NEWS | February 15, 2013

Published February 14, 2013 - 5:55pm Last Updated February 14, 2013 - 7:02pm

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Hip injury puts end to Lady Gaga’s tour

NASHVILLE (AP) — Lady Gaga has cancelled the rest of her tour dates due to a hip injury.

A Wednesday news release from Live Nation Global Touring says Lady Gaga has a tear in her right hip that will require surgery to repair, followed by a recovery period.

The pop star had 21 dates through March 20 remaining on her Born This Way Ball tour schedule. She postponed four dates on Tuesday after telling fans in a tweet she’d hurt herself some time ago, but hid the injury from her staff. Over the last month, the injury became worse and she said she was unable to walk following a performance Monday in Montreal.

Fans who have already bought tickets will receive a refund.

Smith avoids watching Downton Abbey

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of people have watched Maggie Smith on Downton Abbey. But she’s not one of them.

The 78-year-old actress, who portrays Lady Grantham in the popular PBS series, told 60 Minutes that she hasn’t watched the drama because doing so would only make her agonize over her performance. She said she may watch it someday.

Smith told Steve Kroft, in an interview to be televised Sunday, that what she takes from the role is “the delight of acting.”

She has three Oscars, two Emmys and a Tony Award, but said the Downton Abbey role has given her more public recognition than anything in her career.

Sesame Street nears 1 billion YouTube views

NEW YORK (AP) — Sesame Street is headed for Justin Bieber territory, nearing one billion views on YouTube.

The children’s program is closing in on the digital milestone usually reserved for the likes of pop stars and cat videos. Sesame Street will soon pass one billion views on YouTube, and it’s celebrating the mark with a campaign to put itself over the hump.

Sesame Street on Thursday posted a video featuring the character Telly Monster, urging viewers to click the show past the final 20 million views and unlock a “top secret video.”

West, Kardashian get private airport check

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say Kanye West and Kim Kardashian had to be privately screened after an airline employee allowed them to bypass a security checkpoint at New York’s Kennedy International Airport.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says the celebrity couple had arrived at the airport on an international flight Tuesday.

She says after clearing customs and baggage, they were escorted by an airline employee “through a non-public area in order to provide expedited access to their domestic flight.”

Farbstein says this violated security protocols by bypassing the TSA checkpoint. That prompted TSA officials to conduct the private screening.

The rapper and reality TV star were eventually cleared to board their flight, which departed after about a 50-minute delay.

Daughter of What to Expect author has baby

NEW YORK (AP) — Emma Bing, the inspiration for the pregnancy bible What to Expect When You’re Expecting, has given birth in Los Angeles to a boy.

“Mother and child are doing very well and grandparents Heidi and Erik Murkoff are ecstatic,” gushed Schaeffer.

Heidi Murkoff was pregnant with Emma when she wrote the proposal for her book, which sparked a franchise of pregnancy and parenting manuals. What to Expect has more than 17 million copies in print.

Bing has been blogging her pregnancy experiences, along with fashion and beauty advice, for her fellow millennial moms on Whattoexpect.com.

Less Than Kind gets most screenwriting nods

TORONTO (CP) — Less Than Kind, Heartland and My Babysitter’s a Vampire are among the shows with the most nominations for this year’s Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards.

The awards, now in their 17th year, will be handed out on April 22 in Toronto at a show hosted by comic actor Ryan Belleville.

Episodes of Less Than Kind nabbed a leading three nominations in the TV drama category, while Heartland leads the TV comedy contenders with two nods, and My Babysitter’s a Vampire had two in the children and youth programming category.

Other prime-time shows with episodes in the running include Bomb Girls, Continuum, The L.A. Complex and Saving Hope.

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